Permanency in the News – Week of 1/29/18

January 29, 2018 -

Greetings Permanency Champions,

Permanency Tip of the Week: Being Mindful Of Permanency

Mindfulness is frequently included in healthcare conversations and it has its place in the Permanency conversation as well. When a match that did not work or a potential Permanent connection does not come to fruition, we may experience a range of thoughts, feelings, and reactions including frustration, anger, disappointment or disillusionment. Before we act on any of these let’s take the time to pause, reflect and become mindful about the magnitude of what we are asking of our Youth when it comes to Permanency. We are essentially asking them to trust us that this family will provide them with a place to heal from their years of repeated and/or chronic pain, loss, loneliness, abuse, neglect, betrayal, and trauma. Let’s try and imagine what it would be like to go on this journey and be mindful that our Youth will need lots of support, care, compassion and time! #Mindfulness, #permanency

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – Douglas’ mother put him in the foster care system when he was 10 years old because she said she couldn’t care for him. After five years in the foster system, Douglas told his Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be adopted. He was about to be placed in the pre-adoptive home that had been arranged by a previous caseworker, but Douglas wasn’t feeling good about it. He told his WWK recruiter that the only person he could see being his family was a woman named Karen who worked at his group home. His WWK recruiter went to work. She connected with Karen, interviewed her and discussed that adoption is an unconditional commitment. Karen not only wanted to open her home, she had already opened her heart to Douglas and was very excited to learn that he felt the same way. Douglas was able to be placed in her home. The adoption was finalized and Douglas says it was all because his WWK recruiter listened to him. #DTFA, #wendys, #adoption

Permanency Related Articles:

Chronicle of Social Change – San Francisco has been able to increase the number of resource parents applying by more than 300 percent since partnering with Binti, a company I co-founded. Binti builds software for government and private foster care agencies to help alleviate the shortage of foster parents so that every child can have a stable, loving home. Child Welfare Information Gateway – Diligent Recruitment. #chroniclesc, #fostercare

California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) – Juvenile and Family Court Judges frequently recommend or require services for children, youth, and parents in the child welfare system, while attorneys, advocates, and social workers may also recommend services. The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) website can be a helpful resource informing decisions about services by educating judges, attorneys, and other key stakeholders on the effective programs that may be locally available to address the unique needs of court-involved families. #evidencebased, #evidencedbasedpractice

Parent.com – According to recent statistics, roughly half a million children are in the foster care system in the U.S. About half are eventually reunited with their families, while one-fifth are adopted. Many of them entered the foster system as victims of abuse and neglect. But what about the foster parents who step in to care for these vulnerable children when they are in crisis? While there is plenty of data about foster children, information about foster parents can be elusive.

I talked to foster parents, not to obtain statistics, but to hear their stories. This is what they want you to know. 1) Foster parents aren’t superheroes; 2) Yes, dealing with loss is hard (but not impossible); 3) Foster kids are not bad kids; 4) The foster system isn’t just a cold bureaucracy

From talking to foster parents, I learned that being a foster parent doesn’t require a superhero cape, sainthood, or limitless patience. It does take commitment, compassion, and a desire to help others. #fosterparent, #fostercare, #fosterhome

Vera Institute of Justice – Skipping school, running away, or violating curfew may seem like normal adolescent acting out. But for thousands of kids every year, these misbehaviors result in being taken to court or even locked up. A new special online report documents what we know about these behaviors—called “status offenses” because they are only illegal because of a kid’s status as a minor—and why criminalizing them doesn’t work. For many teenagers, misbehaving can be part of normal development, but for others, it’s a symptom of—or response to—an underlying problem. #Juvenilejustice

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